


What if There is No Tomorrow

by TheSassyWitchOfTheNortheast



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-13
Updated: 2015-09-13
Packaged: 2018-04-23 21:44:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4893421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSassyWitchOfTheNortheast/pseuds/TheSassyWitchOfTheNortheast
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>5a Spec-fic set in Camelot before the darkness takes over.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What if There is No Tomorrow

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t know what this is…it’s not angst, but it’s also not fluff. It’s set in Camelot, though so there’s that.

“What if this doesn’t work?” The crack in her voice creates another chasm in his heart. “What if we can’t find Merlin and the darkness takes over?”

“Don’t talk in ‘what if’s’, love. You’ll drive yourself mad.” His lips brush the side of her head as his eyes flicker up to the crystal clear sky above them. The stars burn bright here in Camelot, each one reflecting back at them with the prospect of a brighter tomorrow.

(A brighter tomorrow that may never come.)

“I can feel it, Killian. It's getting harder to...Today wasn’t an accident. What happened with Percival - it was like I was in this tunnel and everything was rushing past me and I couldn’t see or think straight - I just acted. I was angry so I hit him with magic, and me, _Emma_ , regrets it, but the Dark One...I can feel it swimming under my skin like a leech feeding off the pain I caused.” Her flustered rant ends with a slow exhale, her eyelashes fluttering against the skin of his neck as her eyes shut and her hand tightens around the leather of his brace.

Killian doesn’t say a word in response, because in all honesty he knows there is nothing he can say to soothe her worries, to calm her fears. The threat of the Dark One has been growing stronger since the day they arrived in this new kingdom.

(When he found her standing in an open field, her flaxen hair falling in waves against a grey cloak, her smile small as he bounded towards her.)

“Do you remember that house we walked past last month? The one with the white picket fence and the tree house in the backyard?” There’s an eery tone in her voice that breaks his thoughts, like she’s giving up hope and giving into pessimism.

“Aye, what of it?”

“We should get it.”

“If that’s what you want.” He lets himself imagine for a moment, a life much different than the ominous future that surely awaits them. Where he wakes to her in his arms and ends the day in the same way. A life filled with laughter and kisses, family dinners and happy endings. A life where the darkness cannot take her. Killian shifts their position on the bench outside their quarters, pulling her closer into his chest and letting his hand sift through her hair. He feels her sigh, long and deep, as her arm slips around his torso - the grip of her hand tight on his shirt - and her head falls under his chin. “We could have your family over for dinner on Sundays.”

“That’d be nice.” Though her physical self is tucked closely to his side, she sounds distant and it feels like a wall is being built between them. Every breath they take is like another brick being secured into place. “We could take the Jolly out onto the bay. We haven’t done that together yet.”

“Perhaps even spend a whole weekend out on the water?”

He knows the gentle kiss she places on his neck is an answer to his question. Though it’s hypothetical at best. This battle that rises on the horizon, dark forces that grow stronger with every sunrise, makes their future together look like nothing more than a desolate dream. Something that was once full of promise and hope, much like the two of them.

Killian shakes his head clear of negativity, choosing instead to focus on Emma and this moment they share. Finally alone and wrapped securely in each other's arms.

“I’m pretty sure the anniversary of our kiss outside Granny’s is coming up.” She sounds solemn, lost. The tips of her words battered and bruised, as if this was a secret she’s been holding onto. A moment she couldn’t wait to relive and cherish with him for the rest of their days.

“I hadn’t realized.”

“We should celebrate it, go back to that Italian place you took me to on our first date.”

“Sounds like an excellent idea, love. And with no cursed hands and bloody thieves to ruin it, I’m certain it’ll be better than the first time.”

“Don’t say that.” Emma swiftly lifts her head from his shoulder, her expression soft and her eyes shimmering brighter than any jewel. “I loved our first date. It was perfect.”

“You were perfect. I don’t think I’d ever seen you look more beautiful.” Killian shifts once more, pulls his arm from around her shoulders, so that he can sweep the tips of his fingers across her jaw, his thumb settling on the dent in her chin. His heart trembles, the gentle touch a reminder of the aforementioned kiss, smiling briefly as his lips brush against the soft skin of her forehead.

“Smooth talker.” The roll of her eyes is a reassuring gesture, a glimpse of her true self sparking to life. But the spark doesn’t last, as Emma quickly retreats back behind her walls. Her soft expression is replaced with a new kind of intensity, one of ever growing fear and disheartenment. He reaches out to lift her chin up with the curve of his hook, eyes boring into hers. Killian maintains the contact even as her eyes gloss over, clearly confounded with the connection that they share.  “If we don’t fix this. If I don’t come back -”

“No.” Killian pulls her close, his lips crashing into hers in a bruising kiss. He doesn’t dare think they won’t win, that they cannot beat the darkness - that their unequivocal love for one another isn't enough - because that means they have given up, given up on her. Something he swore to himself he would never do. But, even so, the Dark One is winning and there is no way to stop it without the aid of Merlin. He pulls back from her slowly, cupping her cheek and resting his forehead against hers as their eyes meet. Wayward green against steady blue. “Emma, we _will_ fix this. _You will come back to me_.”

She nods her head, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying herself into it. Her hair falls in a halo around his shoulders, silky golden strands that catch on his rings. He inhales the scent of her shampoo, mouthing _I love you_ against her. And though his heart burns with the need to voice his feelings aloud, he knows it isn’t necessary in the moment when her hand delicatly makes its way to his chest. Pressing into him before drifting again, grabbing the hand that lies on her waist to anchor it over her own heart. It’s in this moment that he knows that they will get through this, come hell or high water they will have their tomorrow.  


End file.
